


Personal Trainer Problems

by Fever_Induced



Category: Glee
Genre: F/F, Smut, Sorry Not Sorry, and britt is a sex machine, brittana, lots of smut, no brittana for a while, quitt, this plot got out of hand, with little to no guilt about sleeping around
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 13:51:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5872813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fever_Induced/pseuds/Fever_Induced
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Original Publish Date: 6/17/2013</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Original Publish Date: 6/17/2013

Brittany S. Pierce and Noah 'Puck' Puckerman had come to know one another because they had a mutual friend by the name of Rachel Berry. She was Brittany's childhood friend and Puck's Jew Princess who he had met through a gym membership. 

Brittany had yet to join their gym because she already had a membership elsewhere, and really enjoyed the familiarity of the machines and people. Change and new places are something that the blonde wasn't too keen on.

But once her usual gym was forced to shut down (by reasons she was never told) she begrudgingly took up Puck's offer, she would go to the gym once, as Puck's guest, just to get a feel for it. And if she didn't like it, she wouldn't be forced to continue going.

This brings her to Saturday morning, when Brittany found Puck waiting on her apartment stoop after she came back from her early morning jog. Brittany popped the ear buds out of place, grinning at the man and asking, "Sup Puck?" And giggled softly, bouncing from foot to foot, runner's high keeping her in a giddy mood.

He gave her a smile back, letting his eyes drift over her exposed legs. Brittany was tall, and it was a cliché to say but her legs really did go on for miles, and the girl had no qualms about showing them off, like right now with her tiny running shorts.

She giggled softly, waving her hand in his face, exclaiming, "Puck!"

He grinned at her, finally standing up and running a hand through his neatly trimmed Mohawk. "Sorry," he said with a deep chuckle. Brittany flicked her wrist as if to brush off his leering, and waited for him to explain why he was here. "You do realize it's Saturday right?"

She tilted her head to the side, "Yeah, I know. I always go for a run on Saturdays… But I don't know why you're here now."

Puck rolled his eyes, "Today you're coming to the gym with me!"

"Oh!" Brittany snapped, "I _knew_ that I forgot to write something down in my planner." She pouted at him. "You should have reminded me yesterday.."

"I did," he smirked down at her.

She rolled her eyes and pushed past him, "Alright, come on up and I'll get my stuff together."

 

* * *

 

Puck pulled into the parking lot and Brittany leaned over, turning the volume down on the blasting radio so she could hear herself ask, "Is this the place?"

"Yup! Don't let the outside fool ya, Blondie, this place is great. And I bet everyone's already here."

"Everyone?" She asked as he cut the engine.

Puck nodded, "Yeah, what you think I only have you and Rach as friends?"

Brittany giggled, smirking, " _Well_ ," but stopped when Puck stuck his tongue out at her.

"Alright, don't answer that honestly." But he grinned at her a second later and grabbed his bag from the back seat saying, "C'mon, let's go inside so I can show you the ropes."

Brittany rolled her eyes, hopping out of the car and throwing her bag over her shoulder. "Puck, it's a gym, I know how things work."

Puck laughed deeply, locking up the car and guiding Brittany inside the establishment. Once they were in the small lobby Brittany swiveled her head around, trying to catch glimpses of all the machines they offered. So far it just looked like a lot of treadmills and ellipticals, and—Oh! There was Rachel!

Brittany waved her hand calling out softly, so as not to disturb any of the others, "Rach!"

The Brunette was too focused on her workout, ear-buds firmly set in her ears, probably blasting show-tunes as she sang under her breath. Puck put his hand on Brittany's shoulder saying, "Don't bother yet, Britt, she can't hear you from over here."

Brittany nodded and they made their way to the front desk where she filled out a guest form. The manager asked if she wanted a tour but Puck said that he'd take care of it. He led her to their friend first, and once the tall blonde was in sight, Rachel let out a screech of, "Britt!" which drew the attention of everyone nearby.

The sudden attention had the blonde blushing, even as Rachel jumped off her machine and hurled herself at the leggy dancer for a bone crushing hug. "Hey, Rach!"

Another blonde who had been on the elliptical next to Rachel made her way over. And after the brunette stopped hugging Brittany, the girl extended her hand saying, "So you're the famous Brittany we all keep hearing about. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, my name is Quinn Fabray."

Brittany took her hand with a huge grin, shaking it, saying, "Brittany S. Pierce, nice to meet you." She glanced between Rachel and Puck before saying, "I hope they've only said good things about me." She giggled, letting go of Quinn's hand.

The short-haired blonde laughed lightly, Brittany thought she seemed sweet. "Oh of course, nothing but the best. I hear you're a talented dancer actually, so maybe you could show me a few tips some time."

Brittany's cheeks heated up from the praise as she laughed nervously. "Thanks, and yeah, I love helping people out, so like if you're up for it I'm totally in." She flashed a bright smile. It didn't hurt that Quinn was really pretty, like the kind of pretty that angel would be, it made her look fragile and graceful. It was no secret to Brittany's friends that she was bisexual, but she didn't wave it in anyone's face. She didn't like seeing anyone getting upset over the fact of her sexual orientation.

When Brittany zoned back in, Quinn was giggling and grinning bashfully at her. The dancer grinned back until Puck cut in. "Alright, I'll finish giving Britt a tour, then you girls can get to gossiping and whatever."

Brittany rolled her eyes and threw a wave over her shoulder as Puck led her away. She watched as the two girls climbed back on the elliptical machines, and it seemed like Rachel was berating Quinn for something. Puck drew her attention away by stating, "Here's the women's locker room, drop off your bag and change. And be quick, I'm not waiting around all day for you," he told her with a smirk.

"'Kay," Brittany grinned, before skipping inside.

She quickly found an empty locker and shed her cut-off sweatpants and tee, disposing them into the locker. She rifled through her bag to find her iPod and arm strap while subtly glancing around at the few scattered women. The one thing Brittany loved about gyms was that women who attended were never shy with their bodies, they strut in the buff from their lockers to the showers, chatting idly with a friend or gym buddy. It was a pleasant difference from high school where girls had been strict about keeping towels on bodies until completely away from other eyes, and slipping in or out of clothes while still covered. But still, Brittany made sure to keep her leering to a minimum, never wanting any conflict.

When she made her way out, Puck was waiting patiently for her with a smile. "Ready?" He asked and she was quick to nod, eager to find all this gym had to offer. According to Rachel and Puck it was the best ever, but she'd be the judge of that.

Puck lead her into a section past the lockers, away from where Quinn and Rachel were, revealing the more muscle based machines. The other room was focused on cardio with treadmills, ellipticals, jump ropes and exercise bands. Here were the big guns though. Brittany grinned as Puck slowly walked her around the large room, her eyes darting every which way. Puck pointed out along the back wall was the free weight area with dumbells and barbells, and scattered all around were a variety of upper and lower body machines, as well as abdominal exercise equipment. He poked his head into one of the doors on the left wall, flourishing his hand, and Brittany peeked in to see a yoga class being instructed. The next room had medicine balls and small free weights. Her body buzzed with excitement and she asked, "Where do you want to start?"

"You don't want to go back to Rach and Quinn?"

"Oh, yeah. Guess we can get into the groove with some cardio first."

"Don't let your excitement get the best of you Britt. You better stretch and warm up real good. Gotta keep that knee from making a bad come back."

Brittany blushed under his concern and she nudged his arm with her fist, walking back to where their friends still were. Brittany hated being reminded of her knee. It had been a stupid accident that had gotten her injured. She'd been joking around with her male dance partner, just dancing for the hell of it. They performed a jump together and his hold around her had prevented her from landing correctly, leaving her with a torn meniscus. It hadn't hurt right away but after dancing on it for a week and a half she realized her knee was constantly locking up and even walking was uncomfortable.

She cried when the doctor told her she had to get corrective surgery. Stupidly she's postponed it, and decided to merely take it easy on herself. She didn't want to be out of commission for over six weeks.

 

* * *

 

After joining Rachel and Quinn on the ellipticals for a twenty minute warm up, and chit chatting to get to know the other blonde better, the friends made their way to the other room. For Rachel and Quinn it was a leg day, Brittany nearly joined them, if it hadn't been for Puck's incredulous stare. So instead the blonde dancer found herself spotting her friend as he bench pressed. She was egging him on and rooting quietly as he continued to pump iron, when she felt the familiar sensation of eyes on her body. Brittany shifted on her feet for a moment before chancing a glance around the room.

It wasn't packed but there were people scattered throughout. She checked on Rachel and Quinn for a moment to see them totally absorbed in their workout, before narrowing her eyes and continuing her search. Her attention was caught by the pair in the right corner closest to herself. A guy with curly black hair was holding a punching bag and coaching a female as she threw punch after punch at the bag. Brittany paused to admire the Latina's small but very feminine figure. Her voluptuous breasts were encased tightly in a dark red bra, which Brittany realized was only dark because the girl was working up a sweat. Her dark hair was pulled back into a high ponytail which swayed with her movements. From this angle it drew attention to her defined shoulder muscles, which were on clear display to Brittany as her back was mostly turned towards her. The tan slope eased down to a firm looking backside, with a pair of dimples just above her booty shorts. Brittany watched her footwork, quick assured steps bouncing around in sneakers, with knee high socks hiding her toned calves.

Brittany giggled silently to herself, wondering how someone can look so adorable yet fierce at the same time. She glanced upwards and caught sight of mocha eyes through the mirror, causing her to freeze. This was who'd been staring at her, she was sure of it. Those dark eyes were nearly predatorily as they slowly ran up and down Brittany's body through the reflection, without ever breaking stride with her punches.

The blonde jumped in shock as the Latina suddenly was swinging her leg up against the bag and turning to lean a hand on it, smirking over her shoulder and looking her right in the eye. Immediately Brittany dropped her own gaze to her friend below her, only to find him grinning like a fool up at her. "I see Santana has made her presence known?"

"Santana?"

"That fine Latina specimen right there I saw you checking out. I called your name like three times to say we can move on, but you were distracted," he chuckled, bringing himself to a sitting position. "Let's say hi." He was walking towards the other woman before Brittany could even react.

Santana was nodding her head, listening to the man with her as he talked fast and quietly. Puck slapped his hand to her shoulder and Brittany can see the way she straightens her back defensively before stiffly turning her head towards the person and upon recognizing Puck she deflates, if only slightly.

The blonde linger back, letting the two hug briefly and chat, before she's getting a tug by the shoulder and being forced between Puck and the Latina who's eyeing her hungrily. Wait what? "And this is my friend Britt. That's Blaine, he's a boxing trainer and this is Santana, one of my closest friends."

"Brittany S. Pierce," she introduces herself with a smile, extending her hand for a shake first to Blaine, then to Santana. Blaine shake's firmly and Santana barely holds onto her fingers before she's letting go.

"So you're the blonde bombshell Puck keeps raving about?" She asks with a teasing smirk.

Brittany finds her cheeks heating up and she ducks her head bashfully, "I guess so?"

"Jeez, with the way Puckerman talked about you, I thought you'd have more of a backbone."

With that challenge Brittany lifted her eyes and stared straight into mocha orbs. "You don't know me at all," Brittany politely reminded the other woman, "Let's go Puck." She nudged the taller man to move.

Before they could get a few steps away, Blaine is quick to say, "Nice to meet you Brittany, I hope you enjoy the gym."

She flashes a sweet smile, then darts her eyes to his side to see Santana with a lopsided smirk curling at her lips. Brittany scoffs lightly and leads Puck to an abdominal exercise machine. "Britt, what was that about?"

The blonde huffs as she changes the incline on the slant board before situating herself on it. "She was very quick to make judgments. I didn't like it." She explained shortly, already beginning to rise and fall steadily, eyes closed as she focused on the ways her muscles moved through the motions of each sit-up.

"She was just trying to get a rise outta you, it's what she does," he tells her through a laugh.

"Not the best way to make a good first impression," she exhales.

"She's not the best at making friends."

"I can tell."

From anyone else Puck would take that as an insult towards his Latina friend, but he knew Brittany was just being her honest self, instead of making a jab at Santana. "Don't stay on there for too long like that, you'll make yourself pass out."

"That's why you're here, Puck," she reminded him, peeking open an eye and flashing a dazzling smile, "When the veins in my forehead start bulging, rip me off here."

He shook his head and chuckled under his breath, "You're too much, Pierce."

"Thanks," she said sweetly, before closing her eyes again and continuing.

 

* * *

 

Brittany hit the lat pull-down next. As she brought the bar down to her chest and released a breath she could feel the strain in her back muscles and biceps. She hummed in content before slowly standing and letting the bar go back up on the rope. She leaned forward and added just a little more weight.

Yet again she felt shivers creep up her back. All through working her abs she had felt it and focused on _not_ looking around for the dark-haired source of the leering. But now after taking a swig from her water bottle, she let herself look. Santana was still with Blaine, but had moved on to the mat beside the punching bag and her was holding down her feet as she did an assortment of crunches and movements to keep her core strong.

Their eyes locked and Brittany watched another wicked smile curl at those plump lips. She shook her head and turned to Puck, "Does she ever stop leering?"

Puck chuckled under his breath, glancing back at Santana to see her gaze still focused on the blonde beside him. "Guess not."

Brittany rolled her eyes and pulled the bar back down to her chest as she sat. She released a deep breath before beginning her first set, eyes focused on the reflection of the brunette.

"She's kind of like a hawk." Brittany tilted her head slightly, and after a moment of thought changed her assessment. "No, more like a Lioness. Very in charge, very fierce and graceful when she stalks her prey."

Puck chuckled deeply at her side, "Go ever to her and talk again."

Brittany shook her head slowly, "No. When she wants me, she'll come get me." She caught Santana's stare through the mirror and smiled sweetly, internally grinning as a bottom lip disappeared into Santana's mouth, released moments later, but teeth desperately biting into it before Santana's eyelids hid dark orbs from sight.

Brittany closed her eyes as well, grinning as the burn of her workout slowly crept into her muscles.

* * *

As a warm down Puck and Brittany head to the treadmills for a briskly paced jog. While they're calming down they chat idly about the kinds of working out they'd done today, glad with the routine they had accomplished. Brittany knew she'd be feeling sore in her abs and back tomorrow after this.

"I think I like this gym," Brittany said with a grin.

Puck smirked back at her, "You like the gym, or the people?"

"Both," she smiled, bright blue eyes lingering across the way. Rachel, Quinn and Santana were on the spinners facing out the window.

Puck rolled his eyes and nudged her from where he stood, jerking his head towards the girls, "You definitely like the view though, yeah?"

Brittany giggled softly, nodding. Her eyes were drawn directly to Santana's firm back side as she lifted herself slightly off the seat to increase her speed. Brittany chewed her lip, eyes shamelessly eating up the sight before her, tan thighs and calves clenching and working effortlessly. She licked her lips.

"Pierce," Puck called for the third time, finally drawing the blonde's attention, "Let's hit the showers."

She nodded, slowly getting off her machine, as Puck made his way towards the other girls. Brittany came up behind him moments later, Rachel was busy hugging Puck, so Brittany went up to Quinn, saying brightly, "It was great meeting you, hopefully I'll see more of you now that I'll be a member."

Quinn threw a mega-watt smile, "That's great, what changed your mind?"

"Actually coming here and seeing the place for myself. I love the atmosphere and the staff doesn't seem half bad."

The short-haired blonde gave an airy laugh before nodding, and giving the other a tight hug, saying, "Hope to see you again soon."

After breaking the hug Brittany turned herself towards Santana slightly, but noticed the Latina hadn't stopped spinning, so turned to say bye to Rachel. "What? No goodbye for me, Blondie?" She heard the girl puff out between breaths.

"You look busy," Brittany murmured, stepping past Quinn, towards her.

"Doesn't mean I can't multi-task. Like you've been doing since you started jogging," Brittany felt her cheeks heat up, "I might be looking out a window, but they reflect just as good as mirrors sometimes."

Brittany rolled her eyes when Santana gave her a lopsided grin. "Goodbye Santana, it was nice meeting you," she said through an amused smile.

"Bye Britt, hope you enjoyed the show," Santana said with a wink.

Brittany bit her lip and laughed, before making her way to Rachel and saying her goodbyes. As Brittany made her way to the locker room to freshen up she was intercepted by a short-haired brunette with twinkling green eyes. "Oh," she startled, taking a step backwards, "Hi.."

"Hey there, I'm Samantha Brown, you must be new here, I know every pretty face around. I'm one of the many personal trainers."

"Oh, cool. I'm Brittany," the blonde smiled, taking the woman's offered hand and shaking it, "friends with Puck and Rachel."

"Ah, okay. I figured they'd get you in here eventually. They talk about you all the time."

Brittany rolled her eyes to the ceiling, laughing under her breath, "Sheesh, everyone here seems to already know me. They need to stop doing that!"

"Well if it's any consolation, you're much prettier than I'd imagined."

Brittany giggled lightly, offering a half smile to the woman. "Thanks," she briefly took in the woman's features and flashed a sweeter smile, saying, "I think you've got gorgeous eyes. I've always been jealous of green eyes."

It was Sam's turn to giggle, her cheek turning pink. "Why thank you Brittany."

"Anytime. Except for right now, I've gotta run, Puck's my ride home and he's already showering. Maybe I'll see you next time I'm here?"

"You can bet on it," the brunette said with a wink, waving as the blonde backed up, and spun on her heel to disappear.

As Brittany stripped out of her clothes and jumped in the shower she thought that today went incredibly well. She'd found a new gym, made some friends and even flirted a bit. Definitely a good day.

"Hey Brittany," a voice pulled her out of her thoughts and the dancer swiveled her head around to the source.

"Oh, hi Quinn," she greeted with a smile.

"Sorry, was I interrupting your thoughts?"

"No, it's okay."

"Okay," another one of those airy laughs. "So you like this place for real? You're not just saying it to please your friends?"

Brittany shook her head before grabbing her shampoo and working it in, "No I really meant it. If I didn't like the place, I would test others until I found somewhere I really liked."

"Oh good. So what made you finally come along?" Quinn asked, ducking her head under her own spray of water. Their stalls were separated by tiled partitions that only reached a bit higher than the average waist.

"My usual gym closed down," she explained with a shrug. While Quinn had her eyes closed, Brittany took a moment to appreciate her womanly curves. Quinn had pale skin just a shade or two lighter than Brittany's own, but wider hips and breasts about a cup bigger she would guess. She had a fuller figure, whereas Brittany was all long limbs and lean muscle, in her own opinion. The dancer turned her head, closed her eyes and rinsed out her shampoo before she could be caught leering.

In doing so, she missed the way Quinn appraised her body in the same way. "Oh, that's a shame. How long had you been going there?"

"A really long time," Brittany answered, rubbing the water from her eyes. "But it's okay, now I can hang out with Puck more, it seems like I never see him."

"Is that the only reason you'll enjoy coming here?" Quinn asked with a coy smile.

Brittany grinned back, "Well, of course there's other good company as well."

"Only good?"

"Time will tell," she teased, reaching out to shut off the water. Brittany grabbed her towel and wrung her hair through it as she exited her stall. "I'll catch you later Quinn!"

"See ya!"

Brittany looked over her shoulder to flash a big smile, and caught the way hazel eyes jumped from very low up to her face, Quinn's smile turning bashful. There was an extra pop in her step as Brittany made it to her locker and pulled on her cut-off sweats without bothering to grab her undies. She did grab a fresh bra, and pulled on the loose tank top she arrived in. She double checked her bag for its contents before slinging it over her shoulder and leaving the locker room

Yes. Today had been a great day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Publish Date: 6/18/2013

For the past two weeks Brittany has become well known around the gym. She'd made friends with Blaine relatively quickly while Santana wasn't around and even got a lesson in boxing from him once. She also started talking to Tina and Mike, a happy Asian couple and yoga and dance instructors respectively. Brittany and Mike hit it off really well, talking mainly about dance and he invited her to help out a few times during the past week, which she eagerly agreed to.

If Brittany wasn't at the gym with Puck, then she came with Rachel, or if not, Quinn. She'd grown closer to the other blonde, having swapped numbers and met for coffee once now and learned a bit more about each other. Brittany thought Quinn was really nice, and certainly not bad to look at, especially in the locker room.

Sam had taken a big liking to her, and Brittany didn't mind, she enjoyed the way the brunette paid special attention to her and coached her on days Puck wasn't around to make up a routine. Of course sometimes there were some wandering hands as Sam helped Brittany find a better position on the machine, but it was all in good fun.

The only person Brittany didn't really interact with was Santana. But it didn't bother her much, because she always felt those dark eyes on her body, causing her skin to prickle and insides to warm. They'd catch each other's eyes now and again, trade smiles and shit eating grins.

Today, Brittany decided to venture to the gym by herself for once. It was midday on Sunday and she figured most of her friends had plans. She waved hello to the girl behind the reception desk and headed straight to the lockers to change. She was back on the floor in record time and jumping on an elliptical to get warmed up. It hadn't been but five minutes when a voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"Hey Britt!"

The blonde did a double take, bright blue eyes meeting hazel before she realized- "Quinn?!" No way! This chick had _pink_ hair!

The other giggled bashfully, tucking a stray lock behind her ear, "Yeah it's me…"

"Seriously?" Brittany giggled. "Why the pink hair, huh?"

"Well I let it slip to Rachel that in high school I went through a rebellious phase, which included some poor decisions as well as a bad pink dye job. Long story short she dared slash bet me I wouldn't do it again. So here I am," she flourished a proud smirk.

Brittany gave her a high five, saying, "You look totally badass!"

"Thanks," she let out an airy laugh before hopping off her own elliptical machine.

Brittany followed her with her eyes. "I wish I had known you in high school. I'd love to know what other rebellious things you got yourself into."

Quinn gave a wide, wicked smile, saying, "Well, to upset my Christian parents I may have brought home a girl or two every now and again." Brittany waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "The pink hair didn't last for long, but other things stuck." Quinn said with a wink.

Brittany giggled softly, biting on her lip to keep from commenting.

"I was just finishing up, so I'm gunna hit the showers and head home. What are your plans?"

"Oh, well I just got here. I wanted to see how far I could push myself today."

Quinn nodded, "Alright, we'll have to hang out sometime soon though. Another coffee?"

"Definitely!" Brittany agreed with a bright smile.

As Quinn walked off, Brittany popped her ear buds in, eyes raking over her friend's firm backside.

 

* * *

 

Just as Brittany was slowing down and getting ready to move on to her actual exercise for the day a familiar brunette came up alongside her, saying, "Hey there."

Brittany turned her head and smiled sweetly, "Hi Sam! Are you free for a bit?"

"For you? Always." Brittany gave a good natured laugh and nudged the woman's shoulder as she stepped past her. "I do have a client coming in a half an hour though."

"No problem. What do you suggest first?"

"Hm, well, I haven't seen you do any thigh work lately," Sam suggested, her eyes trained on the dancers toned legs.

"Sounds good to me, c'mon." In natural Brittany fashion, she hooked her arm around the brunette's, leading her towards the large back room with the equipment. Her eyes instantly sought out the far corner and Brittany was pleased to see Santana and Blaine working yet again with the punching bag.

When Santana looks up at Blaine for a split second a flash of a blonde ponytail catches her eye and she smirks seeing Brittany, but soon it changes to a scowl once recognizing her company. Blaine grunts out a, "Jeeze San, no need to get crazy," as her punches slam more forcefully against the bag.

Brittany catches this in her peripheral vision and has to stifle a giggle. Sam takes her by the shoulders and guides her over to an inner/outer thigh machine. Brittany flashed the trainer a bright smile as she situates herself on the seat, legs between the pads, wiggling until she was comfortable.

"We'll start with a low weight, don't wanna strain you right off the bat," Sam suggested with a wink.

"No problem!" She watched as Sam adjusted the weights, and tightened her blonde ponytail, peeking towards the Latina from the corner of her eye. She notes that mocha orbs were focused intently on her and the brunette trainer.

"Alright Britt, let's get you going."

The blonde hummed lightly, leaning back against the seat for comfort. The machine was set up so that as Brittany spread her legs outwards, she was pushing against the pads and forcing the bars to the sides. Because of the low weight the motion was easy for the dancer, it was just to get used to the motion. And maybe to tease a certain Latina.

Santana's gaze was unable to focus on the bag in front of her like it should be. Instead she was distracted by milky white thighs spreading and closing, giving her a glimpse every now and again of exactly where Santana wanted to be most. She moistened her lips and dug her teeth into her lip before throwing a punch and grunting.

Brittany was not oblivious to the Latina's leering, feeling every time those dark eyes traveled along her body. It gave her shivers and she had to bite back her grin. Sam upped the weight a bit and the blonde actually had to _try_ to spread her legs.

After a while she was breaking a sweat and grunting softly with the efforts. Sam laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and Brittany looked up behind her, panting lightly. "Why don't we change it up?"

"Sure," she exhaled. Brittany stood on shaky legs, leaning a hand up against the mirror. She caught her breath as Sam fiddled with the machine.

When Brittany sat again, she started in the spread position, the pads pressed against her inner thighs. With the machine setup this way she had to squeeze her thighs together for the exercise to work. Brittany wiggled in the seat for a moment, getting her butt comfortable.

"Whenever you're ready go at it, Britt. I've gotta get goin soon, but I wanna make sure I see you doin this right."

The blonde nodded and sucked in a deep breath before starting the motions. The weight was higher now but she didn't mind. Sam was murmuring 'good' under her breath. Brittany was aware there were many ways to do this wrong, a lot of people used their knees instead of their actual thighs, but Brittany couldn't take that risk with her injury, not that she wouldn't do the exercise correctly in the first place.

She tilted her head back and kept her eyes closed as she focused on the burn in her thighs. Already there was a fine sheen of sweat collecting on her chest, abdomen and forehead, and she was quick to wipe her brow with the back of her hand. Moments later there was hot breath in her ear and she stuttered in her motions, "I have to go now, but keep up the good work." And Sam gave a squeeze to her shoulder before leaving to get ready for her client.

Brittany watched her go for a bit, before the sensation of being watched crept over her and her attention was yet again pulled to the corner. Santana was doing pull-ups on the bar, but her eyes were boring straight into Brittany's now. They were dark and ablaze with something the blonde related to hunger, that deep, carnal, passionate hunger. So Brittany merely flashed a bright smile and continued her workout.

Albeit a bit more teasingly than before. She was sure to over exaggerate her facial features, making them similar to those she'd be more likely to make in bed with another person. She very much enjoyed the way Santana reacted. The Latina was vigorously lifting and dropping herself, eyes wide but focused solely on Brittany.

The blonde paused in leg work and panted heavily (more so than necessary) tilting her head to the side and trailing her fingertips over her collarbones, the sides of her neck, before burying them into her damp hair and re-doing her ponytail.

When there was a thud, she subtly looked in Santana's direction to see she was no longer doing pull- ups. She was stalking straight out of the room. Once she was gone, Brittany couldn't hold back a pleased giggle.

 

* * *

 

After another ten minutes of working on her thighs Brittany wipes herself down with a small towel and heads to the cardio room for a warm down. Within seconds she realized Santana is on a treadmill, practically sprinting on the machine.

Brittany hides a grin behind her towel before sauntering up to the one next to her and starting off at a brisk walk. After a quarter mile, she turns to the other woman, saying, "Hi Santana, I feel like we haven't talked in forever."

Santana clenched her jaw and focused forward, nodding to show she'd heard the blonde, but not bothering to give any other response. Brittany gave the slightest of pouts when she realized the Latina wasn't going to say anything else. With a huff Brittany upped the speed and incline.

Less than five minutes later Santana was shutting down her machine and walking off. Brittany followed her with her eyes, admiring the swing of her hips, but noticing she was quite stiff as she fled the scene. Furrowing her eyebrows, Brittany upped the speed again until she was jogging away her frustration with the Latina. She'd figured this would have been the push Santana needed to make a move on her. But apparently not.

Brittany had continuously upped her speed until she was sprinting as fast as Santana had been when she'd first seen her on the machine. She'd been at such a rate for a few minutes, when suddenly her knee starting locking up and she quickly (and carefully) jumped off the machine before she could hurt herself further. "Crap," she whined, bending her knee only to find the motion limited.

 

* * *

 

Brittany sat on the edge of the trainer's table feeling almost nervous about the fact that she was now in a secluded room alone with this woman. Sam was nice, that she was very aware of. But the short-haired brunette was also undeniably attracted to Brittany; anyone with eyes could see it. But Brittany just didn't feel anything back, she knew that. So she nervously watched as Sam walked around her work station, gathering what she needed to help ease the pain in Brittany's knee.

The room was actually very large but there was a dividing patrician put up separating it into two smaller offices so that more than one person could be treated at the same time while administering some sort of privacy.

With a soft sound of triumph, Sam turned around to face Brittany with a wide grin. The blonde gave a small smile in return, knowing that it wasn't the grin she wanted to see; she wanted that lopsided, toothy, 'I know I'm hot shit' kind of grin that she'd seen on a certain fiery Latina one too many times.

Sam sat herself on a stool in front of the blonde, patting the space between her thighs, Brittany took the silent demand, and gingerly placed her foot there. The brunette giggled warmly, when she placed her hand gingerly on the dancer's calf and felt the tense muscles beneath her fingers.

"Relax, Britt, by tensing your muscles you can only make this worse on your body."

The blonde huffed in frustration and fell backwards, laying herself on the table in an effort to relax herself. Sam's gentle fingers worked into the tight muscles of her calf until she finally managed to relax. Brittany closed her eyes, exhaling deeply to try and keep her composure, no freaking out and accidently kneeing the woman in the face. But Sam took the noise as a sigh of pleasure, and smirked to herself, fingers teasing their way up towards Brittany's damaged knee with purpose.

Brittany clenched her eyes, knowing that whatever touches to the tender area of her knee would have her hurting. This was not a fun visit to Sam in her office, this was so that she wouldn't damage herself any further than she already had.

"How long were you on the treadmill today before coming to me?"

Brittany opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling in thought. "Ten minutes?"

"Have you had any strenuous activity since the accident?"

"Just some jogging.. working out here, but mainly upper body.."

"Anything else?"

Brittany sighed before admitting, "And helping Mike with a few dance classes through the week."

Sam clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth in response, "That wasn't the best thing to do, Brittany."

The blonde almost rolled her eyes at the near condescending tone, before muttering, "Yes, I'm aware, Samantha."

A chuckle in response, "C'mon, Britt, I didn't mean it like that. You know what I meant." The dancer shrugged, bringing her hands to rest beneath the back of her head. "I need to test the flexibility of the joint, so just a few simple movements before we continue, alright?"

Brittany nodded, and let her leg be worked by the professional into different positions. She winced and declared her pain with soft yelps and whines when her knee was contorted in ways that had pain shooting up her thigh or down to her foot. Sam would utter quiet apologies for each movement that hurt her.

Soon after, Sam had an ice wrap on the dancer's joint and was carefully kneading the flesh. There were a few grunts of disapproval from Brittany at times, but she was doing her best to work with the woman. At some time they had shifted, Brittany scooting further up, her knee bent, foot flat on the table and Sam leaning over her slightly, helping her bend the joint at different intensities.

Brittany wasn't sure how: but innocent, professionalism turned into wandering hands, and kisses. And then Sam's hand was in her panties and they were heavily making out to the point where Brittany was having trouble keeping quiet. Brittany knew she didn't have strong feelings for the woman, but she was also desperate to relieve the ache that had been building inside of her from the moment she joined this gym.

The blonde moaned appreciatively, tugging on dark locks to pull the other closer as lithe fingers worked a steady rhythm inside of her. Sam separated their mouths, pulling away to take a deep breath, gasping, "Fuck, Britt," her lips dropped to kiss and nip along that dancer's neck and shoulder, "You're so good, baby."

The blonde clenched her jaw, chose to ignore the pet name, and lifted her hips signaling for more. Sam eagerly responded, and Brittany's lips parted in a long moan. One that Sam had to quickly cut off with her lips, but she couldn't keep Brittany silent for long. Her moans were muffled and quiet now, though, no one outside of the conjoined offices could hear them.

"Ung.. Sam, I—" Brittany was trying to warn the girl, tell her that her orgasm was approaching rapidly, but nothing was quite coming out right. "Sam-tana!"

It wasn't until Brittany was coming down from her almost sudden orgasm that she took in Sam's creased brow, and slight frown. Brittany blinked up at the woman and then it hit her right in the gut like several tons of bricks. She had cried out half of someone else's name when she climaxed. Oh God. That was _incredibly_ embarrassing.

"I," Brittany started, and Sam raised her eyebrows, obviously expecting a very good explanation. But Brittany cut herself off, holding her breath. Her blushing cheeks burned a bright red, and then down to her chest was changing color as well from lack of oxygen. A second later Brittany was scrambling off the table and crying out, "I'm so sorry, Sam, but I need to leave. I'm sorry!"

The blonde tripped over herself as she adjusted her shorts and stumbled out of the door. She rounded a corner, smacking her palm to her forehead, and trying to catch her breath.

"Fuck… Oh fuck, fuck, fuck," she whispered to herself, clenching her eyes shut to try and block out all the problems she inevitably just caused. She slapped her hands to the wall behind her, letting out a groan of frustration before pushing away and stalking to the locker room.

She didn't even bother washing off the grime of her workout, merely packed up her things and rushed out of the gym, avoiding eye contact with any member or faculty. Outside in her car she fiddled with her cellphone, deliberating whether or not to call her doctor and setup that knee surgery. At least it would keep her away from the gym for a while..


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Publish Date: 8/3/2013

When Brittany hadn't shown her face at the gym in days and avoided Puck and Rachel's texts and calls, Brittany received a call from Quinn. Begrudgingly she answered with a timid, "Hey Quinn."

"B, where have you been? We've all been so worried about you!"

She cleared her throat, picking at the hem of her t-shirt, mumbling, "I've just not been in a gym mood lately.."

"I don't buy that excuse. You're going to meet me at the café in fifteen minutes and we'll talk okay?"

Brittany gave a small smile. "Yeah, sure Quinn. I'll see you soon."

"Don't leave me hanging," she said with a laugh before exchanging goodbyes and ending the call.

Brittany sighed heavily, staring at her phone for a long movement before moving to the bathroom to freshen up. After slipping into a pair of denim shorts and changing into a purple v-neck, Brittany jumped in her car and headed to the café she normally met Quinn at. It wasn't far and normally Brittany would walk (or jog) but her knee had been killing her ever since the incident last week.

  


* * *

  


Quinn was waiting for her in a booth by the window and gave a small wave as Brittany queued up in line, waving back. Minutes later she was sliding in across from her pink haired friend with the smallest of grimaces. Quinn picked up on it, raising an eyebrow while asking, "What's wrong?"

The blonde pouted slightly, staring down at her cup of hot chocolate as she fiddled with the lid. "Nothing really.." She spared a glance up, catching Quinn's piercing hazel eyes before sighing and dropping her chin to her chest. "Just an old dancing injury acting up."

"Oh," she gasped softly, "I'm sorry to hear that. Is it why you haven't been at the gym?" Brittany nodded sheepishly, thinking, _Among other things_. "Mind if I inquire further?"

Brittany sipped at her drink before answering. "It was an accident while goofing off with friends. I landed a jump wrong and tore my meniscus."

"Torn meniscus," Quinn repeated quietly, her mind spinning for a moment over memories and facts until she leant forward with wide eyes, saying, "Isn't that a serious injury?"

"Not always," Brittany murmured with a one shouldered shrug. "But I didn't get it checked out right away and it became worse.." She slowly met her friend's worried eyes before admitting softly, "I need to have corrective surgery."

Quinn reached out, laying a hand over Brittany's, her voice quiet, "It's that bad?"

Brittany closed her eyes, twisting her wrist so she could grab the hand tighter as she nodded. "Yeah. I really screwed it up last time I was at the gym. I pushed myself too hard on the treadmill because I was frustrated and I'd been helping Mike with classes which I should not have been, and I just really messed up Q."

When Brittany's thin bottom lip began to tremble, Quinn pulled her hand closer, wrapping it up in both of hers and giving a squeeze. "Britt, you can't keep doing this, you need that surgery or you'll ruin your knee."

There was a sniffle and two wet dots appeared on the table before Brittany met her friend's gaze, her eyes watery, "I know, but it's so scary. Like afterwards I won't be able to do much of anything for _at least six weeks_ and I'm afraid that if I can't dance, I'll-I'll just-It's like 'use it or lose it' and I'm scared I won't be as good as I once was."

Quinn offered a sympathetic smile, "Sweetheart, if you can't use your knee it won't matter anyway because you won't be able to dance at all." Fear flickered across the blonde's face and Quinn winced from the tightness of Brittany's grip on her hands. "The surgery sounds like the best thing for you right now."

The blonde nodded frantically, letting go of her drink to swipe the wetness out from under her eyes, choking out a, "Y-yeah, I know." She paused to take in a shuddering breath before saying, "That's why I wanted to talk to Mike and see if he'll be my physical therapist afterwards."

"He loves you like a sister already, I'm sure he'd have no problem with it, Britt, there's no need to worry about it."

"I don't want to take away from his time teaching classes at the gym though, so I was thinking maybe only do it before or after hours."

"That's sweet of you," Quinn smiled adoringly, "But I don't think he'd mind."

Brittany shook her head, "I don't want to impose. I'll work around his schedule, I don't want to take away from his personal time on his days off or anything like that."

Quinn stroked her thumbs along the warm skin of Brittany's hand, "You're too kind Britt, always putting others first." Brittany's lips curled bashfully. "If you weren't injured I'd ask you out again for drinks and dancing," her fingertips lightly teased the skin of Brittany's wrist.

The blonde's smiled turned impish. She remembered that night. The alcohol had her buzzed as she'd danced with Quinn, closer and more intimately than just friends. Blue locked with hazel for a long moment before drifting over Quinn's soft features. Quinn was pretty, like _really_ pretty, and obviously Brittany had no chance with Santana (since the Latina hadn't made a move after all that teasing), so why not test the waters?

Brittany smiled easily and leaned forward into her friend's touch. "I'd drink and dance with you any time, even with a bum knee."

Quinn giggled and rolled her eyes, "Such the charmer."

"I try," she replied, her smile bright.

Quinn grinned back, "Alright. We'll have another fun night, but on one condition."

"Yes?" She tilted her head curiously.

"Set up your surgery and talk to Mike."

Brittany swallowed thickly, shutting down momentarily. It was Quinn's fingers dragging along her forearm that brought her back to reality, and she nodded stiffly. "Only because you're blackmailing me," she teased, smiling tightly.

Quinn squeezed her arm, "You'll be thanking me by the end of the night." The twinkle in her eyes has Brittany questioning what _exactly_ she'd be thanking the woman for.

"So we're going out tonight then?" She asked, smirking.

"After a few phone calls, yes." Such an answer caused Brittany to pout slightly.

  


* * *

  


Mike was more encouraging than Brittany thought he would be, of course this was after the initial verbal beat down of how she could have treated her body with such neglect after the incident. Guilt weighed heavily on her shoulders and she managed to call her doctor without crying through most of the conversation. He was glad to hear back from her, though surprised it had taken so long. She was penciled in for surgery at 8am Monday morning. Today was Saturday. She felt the nerves already.

But now was not the time for that, she had a date to prepare for! Was it a date? Quinn did seem to be attracted to her and Brittany mirrored that attraction. Granted she felt as if she'd always be a bit stuck on that damn Latina. Oh well. Brittany sorted through her best dresses, eventually settled on something entirely different: a pair of cut-off denim shorts (extra short), a grayish off the shoulder ruffled top, the strap of her black bra peeking out and a pair of tan boots. Brittany added a few bracelets some unruly curls to her hair and a touch of make-up to complete her ensemble.

Before leaving her apartment, Brittany made sure to thoroughly stretch out the muscles in her legs. No need to ruin a potentially great night by locking up her knee on the dance floor and hobbling home in an entirely not-sexy way. They were meeting at the same club as last time, so as soon as Britt was done with her stretches she locked the place up and hailed a cab. Once at the club she ordered herself a drink and checked the time. Quinn should be showing up soon.

  


* * *

  


Once her friend had shown up, Brittany eagerly ordered them a shot to get the party started, then they hit the dance floor. Brittany merely swayed and rocked her hips to the beat, letting her arms do more movement than anything. She couldn't risk over-doing herself, again.

After several songs of grinding bodies and wandering hands the duo made their way back to the bar, ordering drinks to quench their thirst. Brittany was out of breath and panting as she watched the bartender mix the different alcohols, that she didn't notice Quinn's momentary leering, or when those hazel eyes drifted away to take in their surroundings.

They made idle chit chat about how their week had been, until Brittany's blue eyes brightened and she exclaimed, "I love this song!" Before dragging Quinn back to the dance floor and bringing their bodies together.

Brittany moved to the beat of the music, grinding herself erotically against the once-blonde woman. She smirked hearing Quinn's sharp intake of breath and spun around, fitting her ass against the woman's hips and slowing her motions. Quinn's hands were on her hips, squeezing rhythmically and Brittany was floating, either from the alcohol, music or combination of both. She leaned back, humming at the feel of Quinn's breasts against her back and brought her hand up to tangle in short pink hair.

Quinn brought their bodies closer, her breath in the blonde's ear. Now Brittany was positively buzzing with excitement. The dancer pulled away only long enough to turn herself around. Then molded their bodies together again and moving hers sensually against Quinn's. Once hand cupped her firm ass, the other tangled in the hair at the base of her neck and Brittany found herself staring down into hooded hazel eyes, darkened with lust. With a wicked smile, Brittany grabbed Quinn's ass and yanked their bodies firmly together before fusing their lips.

Quinn's a good kisser.

But the dance floor was hot and steamy and they could only kiss for so long, before Brittany was pulling away to gulp down fresh air. Quinn's lips were quick to tease the skin of her neck and bare shoulder. Brittany smiled, her eyes fluttering, then snapping wide open, almost in panic. She could have sworn she'd seen a familiar tan face framed with raven hair. Hearing the song switch, Brittany took the opportunity to take Quinn by the hand and lead her back to the bar for another drink.

It was seconds after the glasses were set in front of them that Brittany heard it.

"Oh, I think that's Santana over there."

Brittany instantly froze, her mouth running dry, "No way, seriously? Where?"

Quinn eyed the frazzled blonde for a moment before chuckling. She slid her arm around those lean shoulders and grabbed her chin, directing Brittany to look at the bar corner of the bar where Santana was quietly talking to Rachel.

Brittany only had a moment to compose herself before Quinn was tugging her towards the two brunettes. The blonde took a deep breath and large gulp of her beverage.

"Hey guys!" Quinn greeted cheerfully, swallowing Rachel in a hug and nudging Santana in the shoulder.

"Quinn! Britt!" The shorter brunette squealed, hugging back enthusiastically then doing the same for Brittany, squealing in her ear, "What are you two doing here?"

"We're celebrating," Quinn said with a grin too wicked for her innocent face. When Santana stared with an unreadable expression, the hazel-eyed woman rolled her eyes and chuckled, explaining, "Brittany's finally decided to go through with her surgery."

Brown eyes snapped in the direction of said blonde, exclaiming, "What?" before Rachel could say anything.

With that probing gaze focused on her, Brittany couldn't help but duck her head and shrug her shoulders, "Uh, yeah." She looked up through her eyelashes, meeting the Latina's imploring eyes, and swallowing thickly, before continuing, "I, uh, over-worked an old dance injury last time I was at the gym."

The way Santana's eyebrows were drawn together with concern lacing her features, Brittany had a difficult time not blushing. "Are you okay?" She asked lowly.

Quinn's arm slid over her shoulders and Brittany could see the way Santana's face slowly transformed back into indifferent as the pink-haired woman spoke, "Obviously not, hence the surgery Santana." A muscle ticked in the Latina's jaw.

Brittany broke in before things could get ugly, "I'm actually fine."

Quinn looked at her incredulously and Santana slowly returned her gaze to the blonde's face. "Good to know," she said coolly.

So distant and cold. It stung and Brittany could feel the corners of her mouth pulling down. But she didn't want to show Santana how much she was effected by her words, she turned her head towards Quinn, saying, "I'm going to dance," before extricating herself out from under her arm and patting Rachel's arm, heading right to the dance floor without looking back.

Of course Santana had to be here. And of course she and Quinn had gone to school together and been fiends, so Quinn had to say hello. But really? Of all the clubs, Santana had to choose this one? The night Brittany was dragged out? On a date, no less. Brittany thought she'd been able to rid her mind of the darker skinned woman, but stumbling across her today had her realizing that she'd always been in the back of her mind. Even, she mused, while kissing and dancing with Quinn.

Brittany angrily shook her head and closed her eyes, forcing her body into an aggressive dance that matched the quick tempo and low bass of the new song. She was so immersed in losing herself that she didn't feel someone slide up behind her until their hands were modestly placed on her waist, and "Easy there, tiger," was purred into her ear.

She'd only heard the voice a handful of times, but Brittany could place that raspy tone in the loudest of places. She huffed in aggravation. Oh, so now Santana wanted to be around her? Brittany jerked her body forward, away from the woman, and continued her dance.

Moments later the same hands were back, this time gripping her hips tightly. "You need to calm down before you hurt yourself, Brittany," she growled.

The blonde was momentarily paralyzed, the only movement a shiver as a chill crept its way up her spine. She twisted her body to face the woman, but Santana held firm, only allowing the blonde to face forward. "Why do you care?" Brittany hissed over the music.

The hands slid up to Brittany's trim waist before squeezing gently as lips brushed over her ear, "Because it would be a shame if you never danced again."

It would sound like some ludicrous threat, but Santana's tone seemed more of an admiring fan than anything. Brittany's forehead creased with confusion. More so when she felt the Latina step closer and press against her still body, hands guiding the dancer to move her hips slowly from side to side.

"When did you hurt yourself?" Santana whispered above the sound of the music.

Brittany barely heard it over the blood rushing so loudly through her ears. Santana was tightly molded to her back, hips swaying in time to her own on the heated dance floor. It was almost too much to handle after lusting over the woman since the first day in the gym. A squeeze of her waist brought Brittany back to the present, and she gasped out, "Sunday."

Brittany felt the brunette's moves falter against her for a long moment, before returning to their previous smoothness. Did Santana realize that was the last time they ran into one another? Did she know how aggravated she'd gotten the blonde? Does she feel guilty? The brunette said nothing, merely inched herself closer, palms sliding to lay flat on Brittany's stomach, keeping her in place.

The blonde automatically rested her hands over them, then let her fingertips tickle along Santana's wrists and bare forearms. Brittany felt the way tan fingers dug slightly into her skin and hummed. She felt more buzzed dancing like this with Santana―strong hips fitted against the curve of her ass, supple breasts firmly against her shoulder blades, hands burning through the cloth of her shirt―than she had felt while kissing Quinn. It made Brittany realize just how strong her attraction to the Latina was.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, letting herself move against Santana sensually, nails scratching along her arms and ass grinding. She could feel the labored breaths hitting the shell of her ear, and it excited her to know that Santana was enjoying the dance, even just a little. It gave her the confidence to spin around and directly face the woman, who was wearing a delightfully surprised look at the movement.

Brittany grinned wolfishly, her palms resting against Santana's collarbones, and then dipped her body down low, legs spreading lewdly as she bounced twice before propelling herself back up Santana's body, hands wandering. The movement hurt slightly and it showed in the crinkles at the corner of her eyes. Santana's face flashed with something too quick for Brittany to read, before Brittany's hands were gripped by the wrists and Santana's body was peeled from her own.

"You should get back to your date," the brunette said, tone cool and calm. Dark eyes scanned her face before Santana added, "And stop with the pout."

Brittany hadn't realized she'd been pouting, her eyebrows quickly rose to her hairline to show her surprise and she schooled her lips into a thin line. Their eyes were locked intently. "If you want me to leave so bad, let go of my wrists," was the blonde's soft reply.

Santana dropped them like she had been burned, quickly clearing her throat and glancing back towards the bar. Brittany sighed and rolled her eyes, brushing past the woman to return to their friends. Brittany certainly had done less on the dance floor with Santana than Quinn, but her experience with the brunette was far more exciting nonetheless.

Quinn saw her blonde coming back from over Rachel's shoulder and grinned widely. Brittany could only feel guilty at the excitement in those hazel eyes. She came up to their side and rested a hand on Rachel's lower shoulder. As Quinn turned to order a drink for her, Brittany reached out to place a hand on her forearm, eyes pleading, "Can we leave?"

She watched as hazel eyes darted somewhere past her, narrowed then returned to her face only to soften as she nodded. Brittany offered a sheepish smile to Rachel, apologizing as she hugged her goodbye. When Quinn gave her hug, she pulled back and waved her hand around, saying, "Tell San we left."

"Of course Quinn, I hope to see you both soon. And if I don't see you, good luck with your surgery Brittany."

"Thanks Rach," the blonde smiled, hugging her friend a second time before leaving with Quinn.

  


* * *

  


They decided to walk a ways, burn off some of the buzz from the alcohol. It was a few blocks later that the awkward silence was finally broken. "So, what did Santana do to make you angry enough to leave?" Brittany turned to her with a shocked expression. "I saw you two dancing, I'm only guessing," she smirked.

Brittany giggled softly, shaking her head. Quinn prompted her silently by linking their arms together and pulling the blonde a little closer. Brittany gave a shrug, "She didn't do anything, actually, my knee was starting to bother me."

Quinn hummed lightly, before drawling, "Yeah, I can see why with those outrageously fine moves of yours," looking sideways at her date.

Brittany flushed under her stare and turned her head away, "You saw that huh?"

She nodded as Brittany peeked from the corner of her eye. "Don't feel bad Britt. With how much you wanted to know about Santana during our coffee dates, as innocent as it may have seemed, I saw right through your white lies. You've been infatuated with her since your first day at the gym, I know that. I was just sort of hoping you'd forget about her long enough try and have a little fun with me instead." Quinn's smirk was positively perverse and Brittany balked at her forwardness.

Silence passed between before Brittany let out a guffaw of laughter and pushed the other woman. Quinn joined, laughing deep from her belly and sounding joyous, before taking the blonde's arm again. Quinn was a great friend. "Come over to my place?" The blonde requested between giggles.

The pink-haired beauty waggled her eyebrows suggestively and Brittany scoffed, laying her head on her shoulder. "Not for that, pervert." Quinn laughed deeply. "It's still early and we should hang out."

"Break out a bottle of wine and I don't see a problem with it. Now that I've gotten you to confess about Santana, and you've denied sleeping with me, I can tell you all these embarrassing stories about her."

Brittany merely rolled her eyes, "You've already told me embarrassing things about her, over coffee."

"That wasn't even half of it, Britt," she said with a wide smile. "C'mon, let's go," she stepped up to the curb, hailing a taxi.

  


* * *

  


The next morning Brittany woke up less than her usual peppy self, thanks to the incessant pounding in her head. She grumbled and flopped over, avoiding the sun streaming through her window. The motion had her stomach rolling uncomfortably and she winced, curling in on herself, only for her knees to brush against something soft and warm. Cracking her eyes slowly open she caught sight of bare legs, a tangled sheet, bare shoulders and disheveled pink hair.

"Oh dear Lord," she choked out, flinging herself off the bed as the sight caused her stomach to clench painfully. She made it to the toilet before spilling the entire contents of her stomach. Whining pitifully she flushed the toilet, resting her head against the cool tile of her bathroom wall, thinking, _What happened last night?_


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Publish Date: 11/17/2013

After Brittany cleaned herself up, which included flushing down a second round of puke, emptying her bladder, washing her hand, brushing her teeth and removing her makeup, she poked her head out the door. Quinn had rolled over half in the spot Brittany had occupied through the night, pink hair sticking up, lips parted and snoring very quietly. It was rather adorable and Brittany couldn't help but smile, despite her non-remembrance of the night prior.

Tiptoeing into her room, Brittany scrambled around, grabbing panties and a large shirt, quickly pulling them on before quietly exiting her bedroom. Once the door clicked firmly shut behind her, Brittany let out a sigh of relief for not having woken up her friend before figuring things out. Her freckled nose scrunched as pale, bare feet stepped over different articles of clothing; her own denim shorts and black bra was what stood out to her the most and Brittany felt her stomach roll uncomfortably.

Blue eyes dragged away from the floor, catching a glimpse of her graduation photo, slanted as if it had been knocked into. Another roll. Brittany averted her eyes, hastening her footsteps until she was frozen, staring at the disarray that had become her living room.

"Oh fuck."

Brittany normally doesn't curse, unless she's in the throes of passion. But this situation warranted cursing.

The small coffee table was littered with cards. A bottle of wine had tipped over and a small pool of the red liquid had accumulated on the glass surface. There was a second empty bottle next to a knocked over lamp. Brittany approached with a frown, picking up a framed photograph of her family and sitting it upright again.

There were articles of clothing scattered on the couch and floor, and Brittany eyed them curiously before her head throbbed. With a small groan she rubbed at her temple.

" _Booyah Quinn!" The woman in question groaned, pushing her two cards away and crossing her arms over her bra-clad chest. "Another round and_ _ **I**_ _am the_ _ **victor**_ _," Brittany announced with a smug grin from around the rim of her wine goblet (am actual goblet, of white and pink, bedazzled with shimmering rhinestones and a winking hello kitty) as she took a large gulp._

_Quinn threw an angry glare her friend's way, though she wasn't perturbed in the slightest, and slowly lowered her arms. Without breaking eye contact Quinn reached behind herself and unsnapped her bra, holding the cups against her breast with one forearm, slowly lowering the straps using her other hand. Brittany stared, unable to look away from the tantalizing sight. Quinn was most definitely attractive, even if she would rather see caramel skin, and the tops of much larger breasts being revealed. She swallowed thickly, the bra falling away, revealing porcelain globes of flesh and pink nipples that became stiff within seconds from the cool air._

" _Your shuffle," the husk drew Brittany's attention back towards her friend's face, lips twisted in a crooked grin and hazel eyes sparkling mischeviously._

" _Wipe that look off your face," Brittany laughed, "Take notice, you've got one piece of clothing left, I've still got basically everythingon, Quinny Poo."_

" _No worries, I'll get you out of your clothes one way or another," she said, running her fingers through short pink hair._

Brittany shook her head, looking towards the table once more. "Right.." She moved closer, closing the pizza box and bringing it to the kitchen. "Pizza and wine turned into cards.. more wine we decided to play strip poker." Brittany rolled her eyes at the memory, her ears burning bright red.

It took a little while to clean things up and afterwards, Brittany put on a pot of coffee and threw some bread in the toaster for her queasy stomach. Slowly pieces of the night had come back to the blonde, but it was killing her head and the aspirin she popped wasn't helping yet.

A creak had Brittany glancing over her shoulder and suppressing a laugh. There was Quinn, bleary eyed and sluggishly making her way into the kitchen. She had found the bottom drawer of Brittany's dresser apparently, and chosen one of her most comfortable sweaters. The fit was big on Brittany, who was taller, so it hung down to Quinn's knees and off one shoulder. But the funniest sight was how her short pink hair was sticking up in every direction. Brittany couldn't help herself, she greeted through a fit of giggles, "All hail the Lion Quinn, come for her morning feast!"

Quinn flashed a lopsided smile, shaking her head in amusement. "Lion Quinn requires drugs," she managed to say, voice thick with sleep.

"I could scrounge up a joint or two to pass the time," the blonde jokes.

"I meant an aspirin or something, Britt," she said through a laugh, plopping into one of the chairs at the small kitchen table, "And lots of caffeine of course."

Brittany slid a freshly poured mug in front of her friend, followed by a small glass of water and two pills. Quinn took the last item within seconds, greedily washing them down with water. "Do you want sugar or milk?"

Quinn brought the cup of black coffee under her nose, taking a deep inhale before shaking her head. "Black is perfect," she murmured, before a tentative sip, only to pull back with a hiss from the heat.

The toaster popped and Brittany slathered butter on her crisp toast and sat in front of Quinn, setting the plate between them. The two quietly nibbled on a slice each, before Brittany couldn't take the silence any longer. "We need to talk about last night."

A grimace was thrown in the blonde's direction. "Why? Two friends with a mutual attraction got a little too drunk and slept together, I don't see anything wrong with that."

Brittany ran her fingertip around the lip of her own cup of coffee, looking down at the lightly colored liquid. "But you know that I like Santana."

Quinn quirked an eyebrow, smirking suggestively, "But, Brittany, you're one hundred percent single. You're only human, your needs have to be satiated." The blonde felt her cheeks flush bright pink and she averted her eyes back to her coffee. "Am I not good enough? You'll fuck Sam but not me?"

"What?!" Bright blue was wide and startled, focused intently in shimmering hazel. "How did you know about that?"

"I've got my sources." Quinn was being way too blasé about the situation and it made Brittany's skin crawl. She frowned, silently begging with her eyes, until Quinn's gaze met hers and the woman cracked slightly. "Alright, the personal trainer office is two rooms separated by a thin little pull across wall and someone may have been on the other side while it all went down." Brittany buried her face in her hands. "And they also may have heard your minor slipup, your mid-orgasm mishap."

Brittany groaned face-planting onto her table and slapping her hands down, mumbling into the wood, "Tell me who Quinn."

"Can't do that, hun, sorry. But let's get back to the topic at hand. We fucked we've gotta move on from here somehow."

The dancer tilted her head, resting her chin on the tabletop and throwing a pout in her friend's direction. "I like you Quinn, you're a cool cat and I don't wanna not be friends just because we got our sweet lady kisses on."

Quinn chuckled lowly, resting her chin in her palm and propping herself up on her elbow. "You're adorable, you know that right?" She rolled her eyes. "But yeah, I don't want last night to fuck things up either. Actually, I think we could use it to our advantage."

Her face transitioned from a pout to a tight line of concentration, eyebrows pulling together, creasing her forehead, and nose scrunching upwards. "How?"

Quinn leaned forward conspiratorially, grinning so wide Brittany could nearly see her molars, "If we let the facts of last night leak to our friends, word gets around to a certain hottie and she'll be raging with jealousy, especially if the few times you stop by the gym we get our flirt on."

Brittany's lips formed an 'o' and her eyebrows shooting up into her hairline as understanding dawned on her. Then she was biting her bottom lip, nose scrunching again. "Wait, I don't know.." She released her lip, soothing the aching area with her tongue before straightening and lifting her hand to rub it with her index finger. "Ouch Quinn, I'm really sore everywhere," she mumbled, narrowing her eyes at the pink haired cutie.

Who merely rolled her eyes, running her fingers through her hair to fix it. "Well jeeze Britt, in the moment you kind of get a little demanding." Hazel eyes, slanting more towards a forest green at the moment narrowed as well, giving a pointed glare as pink lips mimicked words from last night, " _Bite me Quinn.. Fuck me harder… Ugh, yeah, just like that, right there Q, harder…_ " Brittany's cheeks bloomed a deep red hearing it all parroted back to her. "Not to mention I'm pretty sure that your entire back is shredded because you've got magical fingers and have you looked in the mirror? Your neck," she trailed off laughing, raising a hand to touch her own throat which was splotched with red and purple marks, "Mine's got to be worse though you did a lot of biting and sucking. Trying to bring a little pain to bed to relieve your frustrations a little easier, Britt?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows. Brittany threw her head back, whining pitifully and covering her eyes in embarrassment. "Don't worry, Santana is wild too, you'll be a match made in heaven."

The blonde peaked out from between her fingers, lips curling in a sheepish smile as she asked a meek, "Really?"

"Lion Quinn speaks from experience," she announced with a dramatic flourish of her hands and slight bow of her head. After an extended bout of silence, Quinn looked upwards to be met with Brittany's face a mixture of confusion, fascination, mild disgust and intrigue all twisting her face into quite the comical sight. There was the nonverbal question of 'What?' and Quinn cleared her throat before gripping her coffee mug and chuckling. "Yeah. It was a long time ago, we were drunk and it was back when I was questioning my sexuality and trying to get a feel for who I was. Very strict Christian back ground, a pregnancy in high school.. I was a troubled kid in high school, and thought the only way to be happy would be to find a man and marry him. Little did I know how great women could be," her lips curled into a wicked smirk, before fading into a smile as she shrug, "Santana was one of my early lesbian encounters and she helped open my eyes."

Brittany's face was still twisted comically, though her lips were pursed thoughtfully. "I can't see you two sleeping together.."

Quinn shrugged, "Like I said, young and drunk."

"Only once?" Hazel orbs shifted away towards the ceiling and Brittany tilted her head slightly. "More than once?"

"Just a few times really. But hey that's an upside for you, right?"

Brittany rubbed her chin, looking thoughtful. "As much as I hate the thought of you two together. I guess it has it does have its benefits.."

"I know a few of her sweet spots," Quinn said with a waggle of her eyebrows (one that reminded Brittany of Puckerman), "Places to touch to make her knees go weak."

"I'd like to think I can do all that on my own already, but some insight wouldn't hurt," Brittany said with a playful wink.

The two friends leaned towards one another, their faces splitting into matching shit-eating grins.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Publish Date: 2/7/2014

Groggy and disoriented, Brittany wakes to the sound of hushed voices. And a steady, quiet bleep. Eventually she blinked her heavy eyelids open, surprised to find her hospital room filled with friends. Her cheeks hurt from the broad grin suddenly ripping her face in have as she wiggled into a sitting position, grumbling, "Wow. Visitors already?" She cleared the gravel from her voice and laughed softly.

"Brittany, are you not aware that the sun is already down? It is nearly dinner," Rachel sounded concerned as she hovered closely at the blonde's bedside.

Brittany rubbed at the corner of her eye, glancing around at the rest of the people in the room, taking note that Mike, Tina, Quinn, Puck and Blaine were there as well. Then she took a glimpse out the poorly strung shades of her window to see that Rachel was right, where she expected to see a sun was a dark sky and a tiny sliver of a moon. "Oh," her voice conveyed her surprise.

Puck laughed deeply from his perch in the chair under the window, saying, "They must have drugged you so good."

"I guess so!" Brittany exclaimed with a beaming smile, taking a soft hand and squeezing as Quinn daintily poised herself on the edge of the crisp white sheets of her bed. "The anesthesia was heavy, but I thought―" Her words trailed off as she was distracted by the door opening, expecting a doctor but seeing a certain brunette scowling as she carried a tray of cups. "Santana!

The Latina in question whipped her head in Brittany's direction, eyes wide and breathing out a surprised, "You're awake!" But soon went back to scowling, throwing daggers with her eyes at the rest of the room occupants, "And no one decided to text or call me?"

Tina rolled her eyes, playing with Mike's hair as she sat on the arm of the chair he was lounged in. "Relax Santana it hasn't even been five minutes yet."

Still upset, she grumbled, "Well if I hadn't been sent on a coffee run for _everyone_ maybe I would have been here."

Brittany was definitely confused, though ecstatic to see that the woman had cared enough to visit with the rest of them. She laughed softly, "Bring any coffee for me?"

Santana's eyes were locked with blue in an instant, the smallest of frowns marring her pretty face and a crease forming between her eyebrows. "Do you want a cup? I can always go back down." The entire room was flabbergasted into silence. Or at least, nearly.

Rachel had to speak up, of course, "As kind of an offer that is, Santana, Brittany most likely cannot ingest any fluids other than water." She turned to the blonde, looking expectant.

"Uh.." Brittany glanced between all her friends before shrugging, "I don't know. I haven't seen the doctor yet, this is the first time I've been up since the surgery."

The room erupted in a wave of concerned questions, causing Brittany to go wide-eyed and freeze. It was Quinn this time that spoke up, loud enough to cut everyone off until it was relatively silent, sans the frequent beep of Brittany's heart-rate monitor. "Guys, give her some space!"

Brittany offered her a grateful smile to which Quinn returned, the pair staring at each other for a long moment until a scoff drew their attention to a certain tan brunette. "You're telling us to give her space? Why don't you get your scrawny ass off her bed and get out of her face, Britts needs to _breathe_."

Quinn smirked crookedly before winking at Brittany and squeezing her hand before slinking off the bed to stand, asking in an all too polite tone, "Oh, it looks like there aren't enough seats, Santana, would you be a doll and fetch some fore?"

Santana narrowed her eyes, mouth opening to retort when there was a man's voice interrupting, "Knock, knock." The doctor poked his head into the room, grinning and laughing softly, "Well, well, I should have known you'd have a fan base, Miss Pierce."

Brittany giggled softly, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "Guys this is Doctor Matthews, Heath this is Quinn, Puck, Rachel, Santana, Mike and Tina," she explained, pointing to each friend as she listed off their name.

"Hello folks," he said, hearing a round of greetings in return, before direction his attention back to the patient, "I love that you have a lot of support, but they can't be in here when we talk about the procedure you just went through."

Even though Heath was looking at her with kind gray eyes and a genuine smile, she still felt paralyzed, eyes flickering around until they settled on a swirling green. Quinn slipped her hand into Brittany's, and she clung on in desperation, clearing her throat before speaking quietly but with a sense of authority, "I need Quinn and Mike to stay." The perfect two choices, Quinn could ground her and keep her calm, while Mike was her soon-to-be physical therapist Britt would parrot most of this information to him anyway. Rachel would ask too many questions and talk too much that Brittany wouldn't be able to concentrate. Puck was no help reallybecause his smarts were in other areas. And she wasn't as close to Tina or Santana as she was to the others.

Doctor Matthews took in the fidgeting young adults before nodding, "Of course, Brittany. If the rest of you would file out for now, it would be appreciated. I won't be too long." He flashed another broad smile as everyone shuffled around.

Mike and Tina shared a brief kiss, while Puck took Rachel by the arm and guided her outside, taking her away before she could ask too many questions. Santana lingered slightly, casting a long look in Brittany's direction, more directly at her hand that was practically strangling Quinn's fingers. Brittany smiled at the Latina, murmuring, "I'll be fine."

Santana let her gaze drift towards Quinn, before nodding subtly and finally exiting the room. Heath's chuckle drew their attention after the door clicked into place, "Well you've got a great group here."

Brittany grinned at him, "Totally."

 

* * *

 

Rachel was the first to swoop into the room after Heath left, shooting straight into a questionnaire, "What was that Brittany? Are you okay? Did something go wrong with the surgery?"

Puck took one look at his good friend's pale face and wrapped an arm around Rachel's waist to lead her back to the door, "Alright, Rach, time to take a trip to the cafeteria, let's go."

"Noah, I'm not done here," she retorted, gripping at the tanned forearm around her tomach, trying to pry it off.

"Yes you are," Santana said with a chuckle, holding open the door for Puck to cart the girl out of the room. He saulted his long haired blonde dancer friend and grinned crookedly as Rachel attempted in vain to break his hold. "Good riddance," Santana mumbled as she shut the door, turning and leaning up against it, "She wouldn't shut up the entire time we were out there. Had some crazy ass theories too."

Brittany thought she detected some form of concern behind all the snark and annoyance the brunette tried to exemplify through her actions. She was sitting up more comfortably in bed, propped against plush pillows and the blanket pulled up to cover her chest, arms dangling over the white material, hand firmly clasped in Quinn's who again was sitting comfortably at her side.

"She's so dramatic," Brittany said with a small laugh and eye roll.

"You _are_ okay though, right?" Asked Tina, already having attached herself to Mike's side.

Brittany offered the group a fond smile, nodding as she said, "Yeah, I'll be back to normal before you all know it." Then a thought occurred and she sat up straighter, the heart rate monitor picking up speed. "Wait, Puck won't take Rachel home right? He'll just wait until she's calm before bringing her back? I don't want to not say goodbye to either of them!" She looked at her friends and their shocked faces, which were quickly turning semi-awkward as she refused to meet her eyes.

Her breath caught in her throat and she was two seconds away from flinging off the sheets and finding the two Jewish friends before Quinn squeezed her hand and drew her attention back to the room. "Actually, she can't leave. Neither of them can."

"Oh," the blonde breathed out, relaxing back against her pillows. "Wait, why not?" she asked, face twisted with confusion.

Mike cleared his throat softly and then spoke up, "None of us can leave until Santana says so, she drove us all here in her huge Jeep." Bright blue met soft mocha and Brittany just stared at the Latina.

Until Santana shifted awkwardly and looked away grumbling, "Yeah well, no one was even going to invite me. I'm lucky I called Q-Tip just in time."

"You insisted on us all getting in one vehicle so no one had to pay more than once to park, and yours was the only car big enough to fit us all. And it was kind of funny, how you were incredibly adamant about not letting us go without you even though we had to wait a good twenty minutes for you to get back in the area," Tina inserted from the sideline while smirking, causing Santana to throw a glare in her direction.

Brittany interjected before things could get too heated, saying, "Well, I'm really glad all of you are here." She watched as Santana turned her attention back towards her, their eyes meeting and gazes softening.

"Of course we'd be here for you, Britt," Quinn insisted, running her fingers gently through long blonde locks. Santana's eyes hardened after noticing the action and the way Brittany leaned comfortably into her touch, bringing her arms up to cross over her chest.

Brittany changes the direction of the topic asking them about their lives since the last time she saw them and listening studiously. Rachel returned a short while later, and surprisingly didn't grill Brittany on her procedure or what the doctor wanted to talk to her about. Eventually it was getting late and a few of them had plans, mainly Santana who said they had to leave by a certain time because she apparently had important things to do at this late hour.

They were exchanging hugs and kisses goodbyes when it happened. Mike, Tina, and Rachel had left the room, leaving Puck lingering by the door and Santana and Quinn the last to say goodbye. Santana had awkwardly wrapped an arm around the blonde to give her a quick hug, but Brittany wasn't having that, she flung both arms around the girl's neck and dragged her closer until Santana was forced to give her a real hug. The dancer hummed, content with the warmth and tingles she felt with the Latina's chest pressed against her own. "Thank you," she mumbled into dark locks, and Santana pulled back with a somewhat confused look on her face, not quite sure what she was being thanked for.

Brittany just grinned at her and rubbed Santana's arms before leaning up and planting a kiss. She had aimed for a round cheek, but misjudged the distance a bit and caught the corner of Santana's mouth by accident. The Latina jerked backwards, shocked at the contact and looked down at the now blushing and flustered blonde. "No problem," she mumbled, turning and heading for the door.

Brittany looked after her, embarrassed by her accident, until Quinn's hands were cupping her face. "Get better soon," urged Quinn, not exactly talking quietly. And Brittany glanced towards the other occupants in the room to notice them looking in their direction just before Quinn brushed a barely-there kiss against her lips. "I'll miss you," she murmured just a little quieter, but it would still be heard by the other two. Then Quinn kissed Brittany's forehead and walked to the door, throwing an exaggerated wink over her shoulder as Santana disappeared out the door first.

Exhausted by the visit, Brittany didn't have much time to dwell of it all before she was drifting back to sleep.

 

* * *

 

Brittany was on strict orders not to do anything until the swelling from the surgery went down. She told the doctors that she was highly active and prone to not listening, so she should stay in the hospital for as long as they could allow before sending her home. She stayed a total of fifty two hours since the time of her surgery until she had to sign the release forms and go home. Once she had been dropped off at her apartment by Puck who laughed the entire time she waddled around on her crutches, she called up Mike to know when he would be available to do some physical therapy with her.

"You're sure that's okay with you?" She asked, toying with a loose thread on the blanket draped across her lap.

"Yeah, tomorrow after work is perfectly fine, I promise," he told her, chuckling softly over the line.

"Well, okay," she mumbled, chewing on her lip.

"My last class ends at ten, so just make sure to come a little after so you're not getting knocked over by people rushing out of my room, okay?"

She laughed softly, nodding to herself, "Alright Mike, I'll see you then."

"Okay, rest up Britt."

"Will do," she said with a slight eye roll before they said goodbye and hung up. Once off the phone, she fiddled with the device until she dropped it next to her on the couch with a sigh and flipped on the television. Not much was on for a Wednesday afternoon, or at least nothing interesting to hold the blonde dancer's attention for long, soon she was hobbling into the kitchen to scrounge through her fridge and cabinets for something to eat.

When her search came up with nothing Brittany found herself on the couch again chatting with the Chinese restaurant around the corner, asking the old lady in charge how she's been doing and nearly forgetting to order herself food. She was a chatty-Kathy the whole twenty minutes it took for her order to be delivered, and when the knock came she laughed in a pology, "Sorry for keeping you on the phone this whole time, Mai, I'll let you get back to work, I can't imagine how many orders I've held up."

"No, no, Brittany. You call any time, I love hearing from you. Enjoy the food, feel better."

"Thanks a bunch!" She grinned, hanging up and hopping to the door with a smile, she greeted the delivery boy and handed over money, giving him a generous tip and grateful, "Thank you, have a nice night!" Before waving goodbye and closing the door.

Having not realized how hungry she was, she hadn't had lunch before being discharged, Brittany ate everything that had been delivered, lazily sprawled on the couch she rubbed her belly, eventually falling asleep to crappy television.

 

* * *

 

The next day was filled with figuring out how to do simple tasks while her knee was in a stupid ugly and bulky brace. Sitting down to go to the bathroom and getting up was a trouble she hadn't thought she'd be dealing with. But showering was the absolute worst! It was so challenging wiggling off the brace, shaving her legs and washing her body and hair without bending her knee so much, to then have to dry off and wiggle the brace back on. It was some sort of bizarre torture. As was dressing herself!

Who knew how difficult it would be to pull on a pair of panties? Brittany thought she may want to invest in buying more loose clothing because it was not an easy feat to drag spandex over the bulging contraption on her leg. She settled for a pair of sweatpants that had been cut off into shorts. Slipping into a sports bra and tank top was easy enough though, as was tying up her hair into a messy bun. But getting her shoes tied was an atrocious feat.

She decided on hailing a cab to take her over to the gym, she didn't want to inconvenience any of her friends, or call her parents who still didn't know she'd gone through with the surgery. The cabbie had laughed under his breath for the entirety of the ride because Brittany was squished in the back seat with her two crutches, awkwardly with her leg up on the bench as he drove to the gym.

She hobbled out and shoved a wad of bills into his hand, and Brittan swore she could hear him cackling as he drove off. With a huff of annoyance, Brittany straightened out her crutches and made her way into the gym, pausing briefly at the counter to say a quick hello to the receptionist before making her way to Mike's room. She was right on time for being late to the end of his class and worked across the floor at a leisurely pace.

Her crutch got caught on the edge of a machine and Brittany stumbled forward, only to be gripped by the forearms and guided back to a standing position, "Woah there, watch yourself."

Brittany lifted her eyes to see Blaine before her and cracked a wide grin, "Hi Blaine!"

"How are you, Britt? I heard about the surgery."

"I'm good. How are you?"

"He's running late," a voice hissed from behind her.

Brittany glanced back to see hardened eyes, so brown they were nearly black staring back at her. She withered from the intensity, her stomach sinking as she quietly greeted the woman, "Hi Santana."

The blonde noticed the way muscles bunched together from the clenching of teeth, before lifting to meet that burning gaze once more. It took a moment, but then Santana's features were schooled into a façade of calm collectedness, eyes turning towards Blaine. "Are you ready?"

"Santana, that's no way to treat a friend! You're being incredibly disrespectful and rude to Brittany. Did you even know she was hurt?"

Their eyes clashed once more and Brittany suddenly felt much smaller than the tiny Latina. It felt like she was being sized up, but found wanting. "I'm aware. I visited her in the hospital." Something flickered behind her eyes, before she was walking past Brittany and heading to the back of the room where the boxing area was.

"I'm really sorry for her behavior Britt, I'm not one to make excuses for others, but she tends to be more temperamental before she's been able to blow off steam in our sessions. Maybe afterwards she'll be a little nicer," he said sounding hopeful and offering a kind smile.

"It's okay," Brittany barely managed to get out, forcing a smile, "I'll see you later, go do your thing." She turned to continue her way to Mike's designated room.

By the time Brittany was crossing the threshold her eyes were filled with tears. Her plan to make Santana jealous was obviously failing and instead she had done something to make the Latina absolutely hater her guts. It was a sickening feeling and Brittany was close to running across the room and begging for her forgiveness.

"Hi Britt!" Mike greeted her. He came over quickly and the moment he noticed a tear trail down his friend's cheek his entire demeanor changed into that soft and caring mode he got when someone needed him. His voice dropped, low and sweet as he asked, "Hey, what's wrong?"

And Brittany broke down; she lurched into his arms, getting out the story between hiccups and sniffles. How she and Quinn had formed a plan to tease Santana and make her jealous until the Latina could stand it no longer and finally approached Brittany, but that it's obviously gone haywire and not working and that Santana probably hates her now instead.

"Oh Britt," Mike rubbed her back while shaking his head, shoulders jumping as he chuckled in amusement.

"Why are you laughing?" She whined.

"Because!" He flashed a bright smile and tucked some of Brittany's loose hair behind her ear. "You're so wrong, she doesn't hate you at all!" Her features twisted into puzzlement, blue eyes seeming brighter than ever while ringed with irritated red. "Brittany, she _definitely_ likes you. I think your biggest problem right now is Rachel."

"Rachel?" Now Brittany was really confused.

"Yeah. Apparently Quinn confided in her about what happened after your date at the club.." He trailed off, watching amusement as Brittany's ears burned red while her face paled. He laughed softly, "Yeah. Tina was there to see the explosion happen when Rachel spilled the beans to an unsuspecting Santana the other day," he explained.

Quinn and Santana were face to face on separate biking machines, grinning while they challenged one another to out-best the other. Until Rachel joined them, hopping up next to Quinn and starting at a much more reasonable pace and distracted them. It caused a small uproar of laughter from the two high school friends and Rachel watched them with a smile, "Well you two seem in very high spirits. Santana must not have taken the news too badly."

"What news?" The brunette in question asked, wiping her brow with a towel and slowing her pace while she looked between her friends.

"Oh!" Rachel turned her shocked expression towards Quinn who had visibly paled and stopped cycling all together. "You didn't tell her? I was sure, after you informed me of your conquest that Santana would be the next to know."

"It wasn't a _conquest_ , Rach," Quinn was quick to interject.

Coming to a stop, Santana pierced both of them with a firm look, asking, "What are you two squabbling about?"

Quinn swallowed thickly, opening her mouth to explain, but Rachel beat her to it, leaning forward to stage whisper across the machines, "Quinn and Brittany engaged in a Sapphic filled night of coitus over the weekend."

"Really, Rachel? You have to say _coitus_?"

"I'd rather not be crude, Quinn."

"Right scientific is so much better," she scoffed.

"You did what?"

Hazel and brown flickered to Santana to find her staring at them blankly. Quinn had expected coldness from the Latina, it was usually how she channeled her rage, but behind that emotionless façade she could see her shining in those mocha orbs. "San," she started, only to be cut off by the raise of a hand.

"I can't believe you would do that," she hissed, all venom. _That_ was the kind of reaction she expected. Her short legs flung over the seat, sneakers squeaking as they landed on the floor as she turned to leave.

"Santana wait," Quinn scrambled off her own machine to go after her, shooting a glare at Rachel he was stunned by this turn of events.

"Don't talk to me Fabray," the Latina growled, stomping her way across the gym.

"Can you just relax," she huffed, grabbing the other by the wrist.

Santana acted before thinking. She used her many lessons from Blaine to counter the 'attack' and get Quinn's arm bent up behind her back causing the girl to yelp in discomfort and bend down towards the ground. "You went behind my fucking back, Fabray!" She snarled. "Betrayed me like we were back in high school, and for what?" She pushed a little harder, the hazel eyed beauty crying out in pain. "You didn't even have the lady balls to say it to my face. So don't try to explain or tell me to fucking _relax_." Santana let go, giving her a push towards the floor before going on a manhunt for Blaine to get in a few hits.

"Oh wow," Brittany murmured, eyes wide with shock.

"Yeah." Mike nodded firmly. "The thing with Santana is that she might be really tiny but she has a lot of rage. I mean more than the average person. And so when she has conflicting emotions she kind of goes to this 'rage place'" he explained, quoting the words with his fingers, "And that's how she works."

Brittany nodded slowly. It was a shame that she had to learn all these things from outside points of views, she'd love to hear these sorts of things straight from Santana herself.

"So she played the cold, harsh, aloof bitch earlier, right?" Brittany bit her lip and looked down at the floor, nodding again. "That doesn't mean she hates you. Santana likes you, if she didn't hearing about you and Quinn wouldn't have affected her so much." Mike pat her shoulder in a comforting way, "If it's any consolation, I think Santana had confided in Quinn about her attraction or feeling towards you, or had been meaning to, and hearing from a secondary source that her friend and the object of her affections got together without her knowledge must have been a tremendous blow to take."

"It wasn't even like that," Brittany breathed out.

"What do you mean?"

"I barely remember having sex with Quinn, we got really seriously drunk, and I had already told Quinn that I didn't like her that way and I wanted Santana. But we played strip poker and things got sexy and I think I just needed to blow off some tension because I wasn't making any progress with Santana and Quinn was just there, available and willing so in my drunk state I just went for it." She explained to Mike, playing with her fingers and not making eye contact.

"Santana doesn't know that," he murmured, rubbing a soothing round of ovals against Brittany's shoulder blades.

"I don't know if I like this jealousy idea anymore," she mumbled, slumping forward and dropped her head into her hands.

"I get what Quinn was saying. If Santana gets pushed far enough she'll snap and take what she wants. Which would be you. But after hearing about you and Quinn, she might not be ready to go after you just yet."

"So I should go after her?"

"You should do whatever you want to do, Britt."

A long sigh escaped her pink lips. "I just want to get to know her better. Puck always talked about how great of a person she is, but all I've seen points the opposite direction."

"She's hard to get to know," he reminded Brittany, giving her one shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah but she barely even said a word to me when I first got here and everyone else was so eager to greet me."

"I'm not in her head, we both know that much, so there's only so much I can help you with. Try talking to her sometime, I'm sure we'd both be surprised by what she has to say."

"You're such a great guy Mike," she said with a grin, throwing her eyes around her friend.

"Thanks Britt, you're not too bad yourself." He gave her a friendly squeeze before hoisting her up onto her feet again. "Now let's get to some physical therapy!"

"Okay!" She extended her hands to the air smiling broadly, "Where do we start?!"

Mike laughed heartily and it only took Britt a moment to join in, before they were setting up some exercises she would be doing tonight.


End file.
